Well,
I've been bustedConvicted three times
Convicted three times
Three times of nothin'
I've been busted
Convicted three
times, LordA weed is just a
plant So what you bust me
for?

The judge he
pleadedThe clerk he wrote it
The clerk he wrote it
Down in detail
The judge he
pleaded
The clerk he
wrote it down"No three time losers
here You must be prison
bound"

Some got six
monthsSome got one solid
Some got one solid
Guaranteed, Lord
Some got six
months
Some got one
solid yearMe and my
buddy Both got a lifetime
here

The
corporationIt runs the prison
It runs the prison
Prison for profit
The corporation
It runs the
prison tightNothin' but hard time
here And you know that just
ain't right

Some got six
monthsSome got one solid
Some got one solid
Guaranteed, Lord, Lord
Some got six
months
Some got one
solid yearBut me and my buddyWe got a lifetime here

Traditional
music
-- lyrics by Josh Wachtel and Alexei Panshin

This started
out back in the days of Prohibition
as "Viola Lee Blues" by Cannon's Jug Stompers. We first heard
it
from Jim Kweskin's Jug Band. More recently, it was done by
The Grateful
Dead (remember them?). But time has moved on, and some things
are
different now -- while others are much the same. So the words
of
the song, and its title, have moved on to reflect the
situation.
That's the Folk Process at work.